After You Apply
You’ve submitted your application—congratulations! While you wait for a decision, here’s what to expect and how to stay connected with us.
Admission to ECU is competitive, but our process is designed to be fair, equitable and transparent. This page outlines how decisions are made and what happens if you’re not selected this time.
Stay in Touch with ECU
Remember the email address you used to apply to EducationPlannerBC and check it frequently. We will send your offer of admission, requests for additional documents, and other important information by email. For your privacy, we can only respond to emails from the address on file with us.
To share updated documents, make changes to your application, or to withdrawn (cancel) your application, email admissions@ecuad.ca. Include your EPBC application number or ECU student number.
If you receive an offer of admission, check out After You’re Accepted for instructions on accepting (or declining) your offer and paying your admission deposit.
How We Review Applications + Make Decisions
ECU recognizes applicants come from diverse academic + socioeconomic backgrounds, with varying levels of access to arts education. Our admissions process is designed to be fair and equitable, while carefully selecting students who show strong artistic and academic potential.
Offers of admission are based on a score out of 100. This score is made up by your academic grade(s) and your portfolio score(s). Offers are extended in order of highest scores and program choice. We attempt to place applicants in their first-choice program whenever possible, but may offer a second-choice program if space in the first has filled. Each program has limited capacity; some are more competitive than others.
What Goes Into Your Score
How We Score Academics
Academic performance is converted to a percentage grade based on your school transcripts and standardized to ECU’s grading scale. Each applicant group — high school, first-year transfer, second-year transfer, and third-year transfer — is considered separately to support fairness. Visit the admission requirements pages for high school or post-secondary transfer applicants for more details on how academic performance is scored.
How We Score Portfolios
Portfolios are typically reviewed by two professors who teach in your first-choice program. Each component (such as artwork, process documentation, studio assignment, or written assignment) is scored out of 100, and the scores from both reviewers are combined for your final portfolio score. Reviewers don’t know who else is evaluating the same portfolio.
- If there is a significant difference between the two scores, ECU Admissions may request a third reviewer to ensure fairness.
- Applicants who receive a portfolio waiver are given a score of 100. Waivers generally apply to BFA Visual Arts applicants from ECU partner institutions or approved BC post-secondary programs.
- For more details, visit the portfolio guidelines page.
Meeting Minimum Requirements
Applicants whose academic performance does not meet ECU’s minimum requirement, who submit an incomplete portfolio, or who do not meet our English language proficiency requirements are not scored for admission.
If You Are Not Selected
Admission to ECU is highly competitive. ECU receives applications from many promising artists, creators, and designers, and cannot admit everyone who applies. We encourage prospective students to apply to more than one institution.
If you are not offered admission, we encourage you to review the feedback provided, consider reapplying for a future intake, or explore our partner institutions where you may begin your studies and later transfer to ECU.